


I choose to survive, whatever it takes

by thrandelly



Category: Jurassic Park (Movies), Jurassic World (2015)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-30
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2018-04-06 23:35:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4240947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thrandelly/pseuds/thrandelly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the disaster happened in the park, both Owen and Claire are hurt and wounded, not only on their bodies, but also in their hearts. Will they be able to survive, now that everything has fallen apart?</p>
            </blockquote>





	I choose to survive, whatever it takes

Owen watched Claire’s tired head slowly falling on the side of her seat; the small airplane was moving quickly across the pale clouds and the constant rumble of the engine almost sounded like a lullaby.  
After all, if those last day on the island had been terribly challenging for him, they surely must have been completely terrible for her: the disaster in the park, the responsibility of taking care of her two nephews, the unending sense of guilt… It was not easy.  
Owen looked at her with his big brown eyes: at the rescue camp they had given her some clean clothes… Well, actually, a baggy jumper and a pair of trainers which were way too big for her little feet. She had protested and Owen had chuckled, but watching her now crouched on her seat with her eyes closed, he really thought those clothes were just perfect for her. Yes, they suited her tiny body really well. They showed an hidden part of her, in a way: she looked so sweet, so helpless, that Owen just felt like protecting her from the rest of the world.  
Suddenly, a violent jolt ran through the airplane; Claire jumped on her feet, her eyes wide open and filled with fear, her hands looking for something they could hold. If Owen hadn’t been there by her side, she would have screamed, but he took her arm firmly and gently, helping her to sit again.  
“We are on the plane”, he tried to explain, “Everything is fine, we are safe”.  
“Yes”, she muttered, biting her lips, “Yes”. She opened her mouth to add something, but then she stopped, lowering her eyes and staring at her hands.  
“Were you… Were you having a nightmare? About the park?”, he calmly asked.  
“Well, yes… I just can’t keep it out of mind, it doesn’t matter how hard I try. Can you, Owen? Can you forget it?”. She met his eyes and sighed. “And these nightmares… They always come back, they never stop: I see every corpse, every single drop of blood. Why is it so? Why? I just can’t understand”.  
“We do not get to choose our dreams”, he answered, shrugging.  
“It must be… Yes, it must be the sense of guilt”, she added, playing nervously with her hair.  
“Claire…”.  
“What else could it be?”.  
“We’ve already talked about it, haven’t we? You can’t see things this way, it’s completely against our philosophy”.  
Claire looked at him skeptically, raising both her eyebrows. “Our philosophy? I did not know we shared such a thing”.  
“Damn, I’m talking about survival! I thought we both agreed on that!”.  
“It’s hard to think you deserve to survive when thousands of people risked their lives because of your choices”, she whispered, her lips shaking.  
“There is always a reason to go on, always”, he replied, “Fuck, that sounded like a quote from some shitty romantic movie starring Hugh Grant!”.  
A shy smile appeared on her face: she didn’t look anymore like the other Claire, the old Claire, the one who used to give orders to the staff of the park. She looked like heaven, now, actually.  
“And your reasons are…?”, she asked.  
“Reasons?”, he replied, puzzled.  
“Your reasons to go on, you idiot! You said that!”.  
“Alright, calm down, woman!”, he chuckled, “Well, first of all I like fried chicken. I love going to football matches or to the cinema. And I’m dying to have a dog, right now! Is it enough?”, he winked and smiled.  
“You’re really in love with life, aren’t you?”, she said, biting her lips again, “Well, it’s not so easy for me, because of…”.  
“Listen”, he interrupted her, placing two fingers on her lips, “Now I’m going to give you three good, no, three great reasons why you should never give up”. Claire looked at him with that skeptical look in her eyes, but she carefully listened.  
“First of all, you survived to a damn invasion of dinosaurs, running on nothing but a pair of heels all fucking day! Do you know anyone who can tell the same story?”.  
She shrugged. “Go ahead”.  
“Second, but not less important, you got in touch again with your family! When Zach and Gray came to the island they thought you were just the ‘boring aunt’, but hell, now they think of you as a Bond Girl, basically!”.  
“Hey, I’ve never been the ‘boring aunt’!”.  
Owen smirked. “And well, the third reason is…”. He did not end the sentence and opened his arms.  
“What is this even supposed to mean?”, asked Claire, laughing. His heart immediately felt the grace and warmth of that smile: God, it was good to see that line of shiny teeth inside that pretty mouth again.  
“Me? I mean, yes, the third reason is me!”.  
Now Claire just couldn’t stop laughing. “So you really think you’re so important for me?”.  
“Yes, I fucking do! God, I saved your life!”.  
“Oh, well, I saved yours as well, but I don’t remember you adding me to your special list of ‘reasons to survive’!”.  
“Just because I didn’t mention your name it doesn’t mean you weren’t included!”.  
“Of course! And, tell me, how can we have a future if you consider adopting a dog more important than…”.  
She could not end the sentence. Owen, not tired because of their talk, but willing to share that feeling that was growing inside him, finally kissed her mouth. He did it, like he had done before in the park, when she had saved his life from some kind of flying dinosaur: the passion was the same, but now the tenderness was much more. Owen wanted her, needed her. He needed her precision, her organization and he was entirely sure she needed his adventurous temperament as well: they completed each other. They were just perfect to survive.  
When their lips finally parted, their eyes met. Brown eyes and green eyes.  
“Owen, I…”.  
“No, it doesn’t matter”, he said, his forehead against hers, “it’s fine like this”.  
Claire leaned on his chest now, holding his hand tightly as if she was afraid he could disappear. But he would have never disappeared. Not from her.  
“You know, when I was in the Navy Seals”, he began, “I happened to see things… Things I wish I had never seen. Things that disturbed me. That hurt me. There is only one thing you can do in this case: bury your past and focus on your present. I think it works… At least it worked for me”.  
“But those things”, she asked, “these terrible things you’ve seen… Do they come back at night?”.  
Owen felt a bittersweet taste on his lips, but smiled anyway. “Always”. He tried not to sigh, then he kept on speaking: “Are you sure you’re not more comfortable with your head on the seat?”.  
“What’s that, mister Grady? Are you scared of all of this touching?”, she mocked him, “Well, it gives me strength to be here, where I am now. I listen to the beat of your heart and I know I’m not alone”.  
“And it is a good thing, because I’m not letting you go. The important thing is one: that my heartbeat does not remind you of the stride of a giant dinosaur!”, then he roared, in what sounded like a poor imitation of a T-Rex. Claire laughed: she laughed of the evil she had seen in her past, she laughed of her present, full of shadows and doubts; she laughed of that future she desired. A future with Owen by her side.  
“Fuck you, Owen Grady”, she said, listening to the sweet rhythm of his heart.  
“Fuck you too, my love”, he replied, kissing her forehead, “fuck you too”.


End file.
